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Using what you have on hand as backgrounds

Many times I hear people say they can’t take certain images because they don’t have the tools, equipment or gear they think they need. My reply to them? Be creative, be like MacGyver! Use what you have, and there are almost always ways to figure out how to do something without spending money on equipment and gear.

I don’t have backdrops/backgrounds to use

What? I don’t even understand that statement. Anything and everything can be used as a backdrop. Look around your office, your kitchen, your garage … pretty much anything is fair game.

Here are a few examples, hopefully, they will jump-start your creativity and get you searching for some backdrops of your own.

Cloth and clothing

I was shooting shells for a friend and knew the color palette I wanted to use, just so happens I have shirts in my closet that are in that palette, yes, shirts.

Aluminum foil

Aluminum foil is great for creating some shiny bokeh and crinkly, silvery texture.

Material

Any material — try whatever you have. I happened to have a bunch of quilting material around so grabbed a few of the pieces to see how they looked.

Glitter paper

You may have to go to the craft store to pick this up but it’s very inexpensive and fun to use.

A compact disc (CD)

CDs are really fun to play with. They create all sorts of rainbow colors and reflections on their own, but then add water and you get magical floating drops and even more colorful reflections.

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Regardless of the type of photography you focus on, Photofocus is here as a helpful and educational resource for the aspiring and professional photographer. Our goal is to assist in your success as an artist.